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jaynine60

tastes like licorice....

jaynine
15 years ago

does anyone know what this ferny looking plant is? It smells and tastes like licorice. (angelica growing behind it)

Thank you!

Image link:

Comments (11)

  • Carrie B
    15 years ago

    Looks like hemlock, conium maculatum.

    Is this a joke, or do you make it a habit of tasting mystery plants?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Hemlock

  • jaynine
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    close, but poison hemlock is said to smell 'mouse-like' and musty and taste bitter/acrid. (if it had smelled like a mouse, i'm pretty sure i wouldn't have tasted it)
    it looks alot like Ligusticum porteri (Porter's licorice-root), which is not native to connecticut. maybe a relative?

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:368453}}

  • mbuckmaster
    15 years ago

    The picture is small, but it almost looks like feverfew.

  • SusanC
    15 years ago

    Maybe Chaerophyllum procumbens, wild chervil.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Chaerophyllum procumbens, wild chervil

  • ninamora
    15 years ago

    It's Myrris odorata--sweet cicely
    Hardy biennial--large black seeds about 1/2 inch long with sharp ridges--white umbelliferous flowers heads in late spring/early summer. Reseeds easily. I love this plant.
    Nina in PA6

  • jaynine
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    it's not feverfew or wild chervil--the licorice smell is a huge clue in trying to find out what this is. this plant just showed up this year and i haven't seen it flower yet.
    how about sweet cicely?

    Here is a link that might be useful: sweet cicely

  • jaynine
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    our messages and thoughts must've crossed paths. i hope this solves the mystery.
    i wonder where it came from?

  • fatamorgana2121
    15 years ago

    Sweet Cicely it is. It is a beautiful plant, great for part-shade places. I would suspect a stray seed or seedling hitched a ride...perhaps in another plant's pot since it sounds like a garden area.

    Just a word of warning, please don't taste plants you don't know 100%. There are some very toxic plants out there. Please be safe and smart!

    FataMorgana

  • Ed Perales
    7 years ago

    We've always had a fern like looking plant around here in northern California. As kids we used to chew it, it tastes like licorice. It never killed us. I would like to find out the name of it. I'll take some into the Ag. dept.


  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    7 years ago

    As said above, it's best not to taste plants you aren't 100% sure of ID on. Particularly in the carrot family (Apiaceae) there are some highly toxic plants and the leaves can often look similar.

  • shaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b)
    7 years ago

    Wild fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) fits the description of "fern-like" and licorice-flavoured. Grows beside roads, railway lines etc here, and is a declared invasive, but quite edible. I've read it's equally common in the USA, too. And yes, in the carrot family.




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